Eager (4289) (prothumos from pró = before + thumós = passion) denotes a willingness, a predisposition, a readiness, or an inclination. It means to be eager (and prompt) to be of service. Prothumos is a strong word. It means something like "ready, willing and able." It also can include the idea of passionate. Prothumos is used 3 times in the NAS (Matt 26:41; Mark 14:38; Ro 1:15) and 3 times in the Septuagint (LXX) (1 Chr 28:21; 2 Chr 29:31; Hab 1:8) Jesus used prothumos in His famous charge to His disciples to... Keep watching (present imperative) and praying (present imperative), that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Mt 26:41-note, cf Mk 14:38) Stedman comments on Paul's eagerness paraphrasing it... "Not only are my emotions moved by love for the Lord Jesus," says Paul, "but my will is engaged as well. I am not only drawn, I am ready to act." I love this, because it emphasizes a time to stop talking and start doing. I read years ago of D. L. Moody who said to a man on one occasion, "Why don't you try doing so-and-so?" The man replied, "I've been aiming to do that for a long time." In his blunt way, Moody replied, "Well, brother, it's about time you quit aiming and started firing." It is not enough to talk, to think, or to dream. There must come moments of action. That is what Paul says. I'm ready to go, I'm eager to preach to you. It is action that turns belief into faith. You haven't exercised faith if you have simply believed the truth. You have exercised faith only when you have acted on the truth you have believed. (Romans 1:13-16 The Man God Uses) Paul was so eager to come to Rome that he couldn’t wait to get there. Life had but one value for Paul: to do God’s work. He was consumed by an eager desire to serve God, which included serving others in His name. That absolute commitment was shared by Epaphroditus, who “because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life ” (Php 2:30-note). Such godly servants are like eager racehorses in the gate or sprinters at the starting blocks. They cannot wait to get on with the race of serving Christ. What God gave you, He didn’t give for you to keep to yourself. Just like Paul and Epaphroditus, you are under a holy obligation to share the gospel at your job, in your neighborhood, wherever God has placed you. You are under just as much obligation as any of the missionaries in your church. You don’t have to go where they go, but you do have to do what they do. The obligation is laid on you just as much as it is laid on them. Ray Stedman sees eagerness as a second mark of a maturing believer and feels that... this is where the great struggle comes. Paul could say, "I am eager to fling myself into this thing." Most Christians are not ready to make that statement. The Christian life is very predictable. In a sense, you can trace its workings: It begins with the non-Christian, who says, in great, large, capital letters: "I." This is the trouble with men -- "I" trouble. Then, as one becomes a Christian, another note is added. It becomes: "Christ and I." But that is still not right. As that Christian life grows and develops, the "I" becomes smaller and smaller until, at last, there is just "Christ" -- "Not I, but Christ" (Galatians 2:20-note). This describes the committed person, who is no longer thinking about what he is going to get out of it, or what blessings are going to be given to him, or what glory, admiration, or advancement he can get out to the Christian cause -- but only "Christ." This is an interesting thing: Commitment always means excitement. A lady came to me recently, and said, "I have been to you with problems before in which I needed an answer to a spirit of depression and despondency, but this time I have come to ask if it is wrong for me to be so excited about the Christian life." I wish more would come with that kind of problem -- I love to have that kind. Of course, I told her, "No, it isn't wrong!" We need to temper our zeal with knowledge, and we can become overzealous very easily, but to feel and sense the excitement of Christian living is only the normal thing for a Christian. It means that here is a committed heart, a life that is wholly Christ's. (Romans 1:1-17 Simple Christianity) (Bolding added) "Copy and paste the address below into your web browser in order to go to the original page which will allow you to access live links related to the material on this page - these links include Scriptures (which can be read in context), Scripture pop-ups on mouse over, and a variety of related resources such as Bible dictionary articles, commentaries, sermon notes and theological journal articles related to the topic under discussion." http://www.preceptaustin.org/romans_111-17.htm#eager